Greenman's Blog

Celiac disease is a specific allergy to a type of protein called gluten.

The reason it is called celiac disease is that when a person with celiac disease eats gluten, it causes an allergic reaction in the intestines that kill the celia in the intestines. The celia are resposible for many things, including absorption of nutrients and liquid.

Gluten is found in seven different plants — wheat, barley, rye, kamut, spelt, bulgar, and triticale. This means that many common foods cannot be eaten by a person with celiac disease: bread, sandwiches, pizza, beer, many crackers, and a whole range of other things.

Wikipedia has a good series of articles here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coeliac_disease

Direct links to some of my other articles:
http://blog.ihgreenman.com/celiac-disease/books
http://blog.ihgreenman.com/celiac-disease/gf-products
http://blog.ihgreenman.com/celiac-disease/stuff-to-avoid